(RT).President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was present at the launch of theJamaran-2 destroyer in the port city of Anali, 250 kilometers northwest of the country’s capital. During the ceremony, the leader hailed the construction of the destroyer as a “great achievement” for the Islamic republic, Xinhua news agency reported.

The 1,420-ton destroyer is equipped with a 20,000-horsepower engine and can travel at a top speed of 30 knots, and has the capability to carry helicopters, different surface-to-surface and surface-to-air missiles, advanced artillery and torpedo systems,Press TV reported.

Jamaran-2 is set to officially join the Iranian navy’s fleet with in the next six months, following the completion of final testing.

The move will mark the first heavyweight Iranian military presencein the oil-rich Caspian Sea. The five surrounding countries – Iran, Russia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan – have not reached an agreement on exploitation of its resources.

Tehran wants all five nations to share the sea’s resources equally. However, the other four nations support exploitation through mutual pacts, putting Iran’s share at about 12 percent.

In February 2010, the Iranian navy launched the Jamaran-1 destroyer in the Persian Gulf – the country’s first domestically-built destroyer – equipped with modern radar and electronic warfare capabilities.Read the full story here. More Pictures HT: UskowiOnIran.

I feel bad for the girl… it isn’t her fault she is being called the cleanest prostitute.

(Carl) Kazakhstan won the world shooting championshipin Kuwait on Thursday, and instead of the real anthem,the Kuwaiti organizers played the Borat comedy version. (More)

Footage of Thursday’s original ceremony posted on YouTube shows gold medallist Maria Dmitrienko listening to the anthem without emotion and finally smiling as it ends. Coach Anvar Yunusmetov told Kazakh news agency Tengrinews that the tournament’s organisers had also got the Serbian national anthem wrong. “Then Maria Dmitrienko’s turn came,” he said. “She got up on to the pedestal and they played a completely different anthem, offensive to Kazakhstan.” The spoof song praises Kazakhstan for its superior potassium exports and for having the cleanest prostitutes in the region. The film Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan, released in 2006, follows Baron Cohen’s character, the journalist Borat Sagdiyev, as he travels to the US and pursues the actress Pamela Anderson. The film outraged people in Kazakhstan and was eventually banned in the country. The government also threatened Baron Cohen with legal action. Reports say the film is also banned in Kuwait.

(Libra Bunda / THE DAILY TELEGRAPH): Vladimir Putin is on a roll. Last month, he revealed he was all set to return to the Russian presidency next year, possibly for as long as twelve years. And on Tuesday, he disclosed he was in the process of creating a new global power bloc, the ‘Eurasian Union,’ on the bones of what used to be the Soviet Union. His dream would see Russia again dominating about one fifth of the earth’s surface with an internal market of almost 300 million people. The new union would include authoritarian Kazakhstan and Belarus to begin with before expanding to take in Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, and then, Mr Putin hopes, other former Soviet republics. Mr Putin did not say so but it is known that he would dearly like to see Ukraine sign up to his master plan. His is a bold idea and one that immediately and unsurprisingly drew admiration from Russian nationalists. Older Russians, who hark after the paternalism and stability of the defunct Soviet Union, are also likely to appreciate the plan. Mr Putin was at pains to say however that his mission was not to recreate the Soviet Union …other countries ruled by strong men like Mr Putin may well see the idea as a good one. They will of course fight to minimise Russian dominance in the new union. But ultimately they may see the new power bloc as a way of enhancing their marginal voices on the global stage and as a mechanism to shore up their authoritarian regimes at a time when dictators are nervously looking over their shoulders. (MORE PAIN)

I feel less threatened and more pity for any confederation of countries that centralize. It might help tyrannical governments feel less threatened by their own populations, but in a time when there is so much economic instability, It’s about the worst thing one can do for one’s economy… no wait… correct that… it is the worst thing for the richer countries economy… the country of deadbeats gets bailed out. Russia has nothing to gain by bringing potential equivalents of Greece into their sphere. Sure… they might be rich in resources, but a centralized structure will quickly abuse those resources. I don’t feel threatened… I feel bad for them. It has not worked for Europe. It is too bad these totalitarian countries can not bring some proportion of human rights into their government because a stable democracy built on natural resources and a healthy amount of cultural guiding through media public relations to push ideas like equal dignity for genders and tolerance for those who don’t threaten to kick your ass would be ideal. Russia seems ok in the gender department, but many of their former satellite states are Muslim. Good luck with that. While America and Europe are starting to understand that Democracy is not Democracy because someone says so, but rather Democracy is Democracy because government is kept in check, Russia is figuring out a new way to obscure a dictatorship. G-d help them.

The Associated Press reports that Iran is close to clinching a deal to clandestinely import 1,350 tons of purified uranium ore from Kazakhstan.

The report was prepared by a member nation of the International Atomic Energy Agency and given to AP on the condition that the country not be identified because of the confidential nature of the information.

The reports claims Teheran is willing to pay $450 million for the shipment and added that “the price is high because of the secret nature of the deal and due to Iran’s commitment to keep secret the elements supplying the material”.

Clandestine imports are banned by the UN Security Council, and Iran is currently under sanctions that ban the importat of all items, materials, equipment, goods, and technology that could contribute to its enrichment activities.A Western diplomat from a member of the IAEA’s 35-nation board said the report was causing “concern” among countries that have seen it and generating “intelligence chatter”.

A senior US official told the AP that Washington was aware of the intelligence report but declined to discuss specifics:

We are not going to discuss our private consultations with other governments on such matters but, suffice to say, we have been engaged with Kazakhstan and many of our other international nonproliferation partners on this subject in particular over the past several years. We will continue to have those discussions.

State Department spokesman Ian Kelly said: “The transfer of any uranium yellowcake … to Iran would constitute a clear violation of UNSC sanctions. We have been engaged with many of our international nonproliferation partners on Iran’s illicit efforts to acquire new supplies of uranium over the past several years.”

Purified ore, or uranium oxide — known as “yellowcake” — is processed into a uranium gas, which is then spun and re-spun to varying degrees of enrichment. Low enriched uranium is used for nuclear fuel, and upper-end high enriched uranium for nuclear weapons.

Kazakhstan is among the world’s three top producers of uranium, accounting for more than 8,500 tons last year. In comparison, Iran produces only an estimated 20 tons a year.

The Associated Press reports that Iran is close to clinching a deal to clandestinely import 1,350 tons of purified uranium ore from Kazakhstan.

The report was prepared by a member nation of the International Atomic Energy Agency and given to AP on the condition that the country not be identified because of the confidential nature of the information.

The reports claims Teheran is willing to pay $450 million for the shipment and added that “the price is high because of the secret nature of the deal and due to Iran’s commitment to keep secret the elements supplying the material”.

Clandestine imports are banned by the UN Security Council, and Iran is currently under sanctions that ban the importat of all items, materials, equipment, goods, and technology that could contribute to its enrichment activities.A Western diplomat from a member of the IAEA’s 35-nation board said the report was causing “concern” among countries that have seen it and generating “intelligence chatter”.

A senior US official told the AP that Washington was aware of the intelligence report but declined to discuss specifics:

We are not going to discuss our private consultations with other governments on such matters but, suffice to say, we have been engaged with Kazakhstan and many of our other international nonproliferation partners on this subject in particular over the past several years. We will continue to have those discussions.

State Department spokesman Ian Kelly said: “The transfer of any uranium yellowcake … to Iran would constitute a clear violation of UNSC sanctions. We have been engaged with many of our international nonproliferation partners on Iran’s illicit efforts to acquire new supplies of uranium over the past several years.”

Purified ore, or uranium oxide — known as “yellowcake” — is processed into a uranium gas, which is then spun and re-spun to varying degrees of enrichment. Low enriched uranium is used for nuclear fuel, and upper-end high enriched uranium for nuclear weapons.

Kazakhstan is among the world’s three top producers of uranium, accounting for more than 8,500 tons last year. In comparison, Iran produces only an estimated 20 tons a year.